are there too many zombie flicks out there now?

[HLS]

I do not think zombie flicks will ever be mainstream.

[jdog]

i agree that there are to many crapy zombie flics out there in the last few years , as a result of hacks who are just trying to cash in on a quick buck. most of the strait to dvd flicks are trash with weak stories and terrible acting. as far as zombie movies going mainstream i think they already have to an extent. a movie like dawn04 that was made to attract a very diverse audiance , such as the action lovers (since it was more an action movie then a horror movie), the hard core zombie heads (by the name "dawn of the dead"), and the teen crowd (by publicity adds on such channels as mtv and one programs like WWE wrestling). i sure hope that the zombie genre will not go main stream because it would take away a piece of my individuality.

[Princess Flesh Eater]

There will never be too many Zombie films!

[Cereval]

I've mentioned before that I feel it's like the post-Nirvana wave of wannabe's. Everyone latches on to the given trend and tries to come up with something equal to or in tandem with their predecessors. Only what it ends up being is this watered-down, imitation, no-integrity, unfaithful cash-in. A lot of companies are getting in on this because of the popularity and the dollar amount. Remember Nirvana? So many bands tried imitating the Seattle Sound after grunge died ... it was a sad sight. Suddenly everyone was a morose rocker that had so much pain in their lives - which obviously meant wearing flannel t-shirts and playing faux-passionate rock. The whole sequence of events simply later melded with the mainstream into a big soupy disappearance. Where's alternative now? It's at the Gap and Pac Sun. It's on the billboard for your favorite radio station. Alternative music is officially part of the spectrum, and all because of the stages it went through for induction. I think some parallels can be drawn with the zombie genre currently. Unfortunately, we're at the "post" phase now where it's getting a bit worn down. I give it 2 more years before zombie movies are yet again an anamoly. But of course people will remember that somewhere during the middle of this decade, there was an outpouring of zombie flicks. But as mentioned in the Romero radio interview, zombies are the new vampire. And what of the vampire genre? How many rehashes and homages have we seen over the years? It starts up, then dies out. But every so often there are some interesting things done with the idea. This is where I see the zombie genre going. As an official inductee in the mainstream, it'll be subject to a lot of lameness. But once in a while, a project will emerge from the shambling crowd of followers, and lead the rest like the films we love.

[bassman]

Great post, Cereval. I agree 100%. Sadly, that's how most people are. They don't want to use their own mind and form their own opinion of things. They just want to "fit in", so they wear the clothes that everyone else wears, listen to the same music that everyone listens to, and act exactly the same as everyone else. What happened to originality, people???

[Cereval]

What happened to originality, people??? "I am unique ... just like everyone else." Questions? See MySpace.

[Shemp]

At least zombie movies are being made right now, albeit most of them are crap. You've just got to take the bad with the good. Old-timers like me will recall just how lean times were for horror films in the late eighties and much of the nineties (sure there were some good films, but I recall seeing LAWNMOWER MAN and PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS when they were the ONLY horror film in circulation at the time). Even a great horror director like GAR couldnt really produce in the 90's (DARK HALF and BRUISER both suffered from nearly non-existent distribution). We're in a pretty good cycle for horror films right now, with several in circulation and many of them doing well at the box-office. As long as they are making reasonable profits, zombie films will continue to be made. The financial failure of DAY OF THE DEAD (despite it's modest budget) and LIFEFORCE (with a huge budget) back in 1985 spelled the end of major-studio interest in zombie films for several years to follow. The same situation applies to Westerns (another genre I love). TOMBSTONE almost revived the genre back in 93. It was a hit, critics and fans loved it, and a small cycle of Westerns were planned or produced. The revival didn't last long, however, after Kevin Costner's big-budget WYATT EARP tanked at the boxoffice. I truly hope that GAR's next zombie film is greenlighted soon. The timing appears to be right for it, as horror=$ at the boxoffice in recent months.

[Keith B.]

Of course, they're doing a remake of CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS.....just what the world needed, right? You can never have too many zombie films. Unfortunately, most of them suck ass, so it's a process of elimination.....stuff like HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD is better than the new stuff coming out.

[MoonSylver]

[QUOTE=Keith B.]Of course, they're doing a remake of CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS.....just what the world needed, right? Actually since Bejaman "Bob" Clark (who co-wrote & directed the original) Is onboard for this one AND this might be the best canidate for "zombie movie that could benifit from a big budget remake" (though I love the original), so this one COULD be good

[Mortis]

The only good thing about the Dawn remake is that it helped George get Land out. He's said that himself, too.

[rikimaru]

im a nub but this seems as good a first topic as any. I didnt grow up with these movies but i thought they where great. Just like how i still love nintento games even though the graphics arnt up to date. I think that zombie movies are overdone lately but eventualy they will lull and the good will show through. On a slightly related note i was compleatly ****ed with the resident evil movies. gorges script woulda been awesome in compairison.

[Danny]

theres allways something, before this it was wizards, before that comic book heroes, before that cgi bugs and so on and so on. i love zombie films but theres so much crap about now im kinda switching over to zombie comic books, they stretch stories to longer than 90 min's anyway, case in point the walking dead and the goon. and though technically not zombies yesterday i discovered a comic called y the last man, currently being made into a movie , about how all male mammals die at once from a plague except one guy and a monkey, come on your intriqued arent you?.

[Svengoolie]

That was an excellent post, Cereval...but I don't think it accurately describes what we're seeing NOW as much as it describes what we saw almost 30 years ago...when the original Dawn, Halloween, and Friday the 13th were released and set off a revolution in horror. Up to that point, horror films were still pretty much at the same level they were in the 1930s-1950s....with a few notable exceptions (like TCM or The Exorcist). GAR, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and Wes Craven kicked down the door and started a revolution in the genre that produced some of the best horror flicks seen to date....pushing aside the old stuff (like Frankenstein or Them!) and the old guys (like Vinnie Price and John "Holmes" Carradine). Much like Nirvana, the alternative trumped the mainstream...and ultimately became the mainstream. And, just like with Nirvana and the Grunge revolution, the bottom suddenly dropped out of that movement...with horror flicks in the early to mid 80s instead of the early to mid 90s, as was the case with Grunge. What we're seeing now is a movement to revitalize the genre, for better or for worse...and in the zombie sub-genre, running zombies are the new "Seattle Sound" of ghouls, looking to replace the runners of old. But, this movement isn't about just zombies, it's a move to collectively revitalize the genre as a whole....with remakes, sequals to old franchises, and rip-offs of Japanese stuff. Whether it's good or bad is a matter of opinion, but one thing's for certain--it's marginally successful. Hell, even GAR's Land wouldn't have ever got made if those other films weren't making money. As to where it's all going, or where it'll all end up...who knows? As for me, I'll always keep my horror "oldies" close at hand.